The Internet and other types of telecommunications means have revolutionized the way auctions and other types of sales are conducted. For example, no longer is it necessary for all auction participants to gather together in the same auction house, auction tent or other physical location. Some auctions continue to be conducted live at an auction site, but the telephone, television, the Internet, or other communications means allows some degree of remote participation. Some auctions are now televised, with potential buyers being invited to submit bids by telephone. Other auctions, such as those operated by ebay, take place entirely within “cyberspace”—with a computer fulfilling some of the functions of an auctioneer by keeping track of bids and bidders, declaring who is the highest bidder, declaring when the auction is over, etc. Such “cyberspace” auctions offer a worldwide clientele, with bidders from a variety of geographical locations participating via the Internet and conventional Internet browsers.
Multimedia data communications capabilities have now in some cases replaced the telephone and television to provide a live auction simulcast to remote bidders. In such auctions, the auctioneer may be a person standing in front of the goods or services to be auctioned off. Just as in a conventional live auction, the auction may be attended by bidders who appear in person to inspect the goods, submit their bids and better their bids during the live auction. However, it is now becoming increasingly common for other bidders to participate in the auction from remote locations. For example, Internet connections may now provide the same effect as closed-circuit television but with the added advantage of two-way interactivity. An Internet bidder can view an audio/video feed using a browser and conventional plug-in—and see and hear everything going on during the auction. To submit a bid, the remote bidder can depress a button or other control displayed in a browser view—sending a signal back to the auction location that is displayed on the auctioneer's display screen. The auctioneer is able to recognize remote bids virtually instantaneously in competition with local bids.
The ability of remote bidders from virtually anywhere to participate in the auction is advantageous for the bidders, the sellers and the auctioneer. The remote bidders benefit because they do not need to travel long distances to physically appear at the auction. The sellers benefit because they have the potential for a much greater number of participating bidders—which often results in merchandise being auctioned at a price that is closer to fair market value. The auctioneer benefits because increased participation potential usually means higher sales volumes and therefore increased revenues.
Many types of auction sales do not require a lot of seller participation. In one type of classic auction situation, the seller may set a reserve price which is the minimum price the seller will allow the item to sell for. Sometimes this reserve price is known only by the auctioneer and the seller, and is kept hidden from bidders or other potential buyers. In this type of auctioning transaction, once the seller sets a reserve price in advance, his participation is generally not needed to complete the transaction. If the seller's pre-specified reserve price is not met, then the item is not sold. On the other hand, if a bid exceeds the seller's pre-specified reserve price, then the auction proceeds and is completed by the auctioneer without the seller's active participation. The auctioneer can simply inform the seller at the conclusion of the sale of details concerning the highest bid.
There are, however, certain types of auctions where direct involvement by the seller or his agent is helpful or desirable. In one example auction of this type, the auctioneer puts the item to be auctioned on the “block” and begins accepting bids. However, it is understood by all participants that the seller must give his or her approval before the auction can be completed. The sale completes only if the seller approves of the final price. This means that the seller must nod or otherwise indicate the bid is acceptable before the auctioneer can declare the highest bidder to have won the auction. This type of dynamic interaction with the seller allows the seller to make reserve price decisions on the spot—providing great flexibility. Even in auctions with a reserve price, if the seller is able to participate and watch the bidding going forward, he may change his mind about the reserve price and allow the goods or services to be sold for less than the reserve—so interactive seller participation may be desirable.
Experience has shown that bidders who do not get immediate feedback as to whether their bids will be accepted will rapidly lose interest. Bidders usually want to know right away if their bid has been accepted. They may be looking for certain types of items, and may wish to bid on other similar items if their high bid on one auction is not accepted. The idea of waiting hours or days for a seller to approve a bid does not comport with these type of auction experiences.
In the past, the need for instantaneous seller approval has generally required sellers to attend auctions in person. This requirement has, however, imposed significant burdens on sellers. In cases where sellers participate in a number of different auctions across a wide geographical region, the need for sellers to travel to each individual auction can be expensive and time consuming—requiring a significant personnel force. While many people in the past have allowed remote bidders to participate in live auctions, allowing sellers to participate remotely is a different challenge.
The technology herein attempts to solve these problems by providing an effective interactive remote seller capability that allows remote sellers to participate in auctions and other sales as if they were physically present at the auction.
One aspect of the exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation herein provides an absentee seller function allowing sellers to approve the sale of items remotely. In one illustrative, exemplary non-limiting arrangement, sellers have the ability to “approve”, “if sale”, “no sale” or propose a counter offer for each item they represent in the auction or other sale. The absentee seller function can be employed in sales where all bidders are physically present on site, all bidders are remote, or some bidders are physically present and other are remote.
In an exemplary non-limiting illustrative implementation, the remote (“absentee”) seller connects to the auction/sale via the Internet or other data communications means. In one example illustrative implementation, the remote seller uses a conventional Internet browser with appropriate multimedia plug-ins, provided by an appropriate appliance including but not limited to for example a personal computer, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant or any other suitable device including input means and display means. A computer system controls the remote seller's device to display various information about the ongoing auction/sale including for example bid history, condition/description of the item being auctioned, value indicators (e.g., fair market value, floor or other fair market price, book value, etc.). Such informative displays may in some cases give remote sellers more complete, comprehensive and readily available information than if they were standing at the live auction.
In one example illustrative non-limiting implementation, the remote seller is also provided with a “simulcast” of the ongoing auction including a live video/audio feed. This way, the remote seller can see and hear what is going on at the auction/sale including for example the ability to observe the auctioneer and the bidders who are physically present. In one exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, the remote seller is also able to see bid history information including bids submitted by bidders physically present at the auction/sale as well as bids submitted by bidders who are remotely located and are accessing the auction/sale via the Internet or other telecommunications means.
In one illustrative exemplary non-limiting implementation, the remote seller is provided with a messaging capability allowing the remote seller to pass virtually instantaneous messages to the auctioneer and/or to the other participants. One significant exemplary illustrative type of message the remote seller can pass to the auctioneer relates to the remote seller's approval of the transaction. For example, in certain types of auctions/sales, the transaction is not finalized unless and until the seller approves. In such instances, the remote seller in the exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation may send a message to the auctioneer (by depressing an “OK to sell” button) informing the auctioneer that the item can be sold at the current high bid price. This seller approval gives the auctioneer freedom to make the auction sale final—either to the current highest bidder or to an additional higher bid that beats the current high bid.
In additional exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations, the remote seller can provide feedback other than simply accepting or not accepting the current high bid. For example, the seller can “if” a sale—meaning that the sale is made contingent on the seller's later approval. Alternatively, the seller can present the highest bidder with a counter offer (e.g., you have offered $22,000 for this item—if you increase your offer by $500 I will accept your offer and sell the item to you at that price”). Other example feedback includes marketing and other messages that the remote seller can present to all participating bidders (e.g., by displaying them on a billboard or other type interactive display, simultaneously transmitting them to all participating bidders via telecommunications means) and/or asking the auctioneer to report to all.
The illustrative non-limiting exemplary implementation disclosed herein also provides a “temporarily-inactive” feature that remote sellers can take advantage of if they need to leave the auction/sale for a short time but intend to return. Instead of logging out of the auction/sale, the remote seller may simply stop providing feedback to the auctioneer. For example, this may happen if the remote seller receives a phone call, loses his Internet connection or is otherwise distracted from participating in the auction/sale. In this instance, the auctioneer proceeds as if the seller is not present (e.g., by not waiting for the seller to respond and by “ifing” sales in appropriate cases). When the remote seller returns, the remote seller may send a message informing the auctioneer that he or she has returned (e.g., “rejoined the auction”). The auctioneer is informed of the remote seller's return to participating in the auction/sale, and may then again begin relying on the remote seller to provide feedback needed to complete sales.